OK, but super frustrating product with little support. I really, really want to love this device, but there are just too many quirks that are just as frustrating as the problem that this device solves (for me). I bought this because I use a Nintendo Switch along side my PC, adn they share one of my two monitors. Previously, I would run the audio from my Nintendo through the line-in on my internal sound card, however Windows 10 (and 11) seem to think that a line-in audio source must preven the computer from going to sleep, which I don't like. I bought the Creative G8 to utilize it's dual USB C inputs, one for my PC connection, and the second for the Nintendo connection. This works great to combine my devices and even has a balance knob to individually adjust volume for each source. The problems are: 1) the game/chat volume adjustment is digital and software controlled, which I don't mind except that it just kind of does what it wants. If I have the volume down on my Nintendo while listening to PC audio, it works as expected until the PC audio goes silent, at which point the Nintendo sound creeps back up to full volume even without adjusting the knob. When sound starts coming from teh PC again, the nintendo volume will suddenly drop back to the previously set low volume level. This is not desired behavior, and to my knowledge, there is no way to prevent it. 2) Digital volume controls sometimes gets lost, like it doesn't know the position of the knobs, and you have to make adjustments that would be otherwise unnecessary so the device can recalibrate the volume levels. 3) When my PC wakes of from sleep, occassionally online video will not play correctly (no sound, extreme lag, pixelated image, or just nothing at all) and I finally figured out that it's being caused my the G8, because once I press the "mode" button, everything goes back to normal, and video begins working correctly again 4) Unintuitive, clunky, software that makees it very difficult to achieve the audio results you're looking for. Any of the non-pure (equalized) modes result in muffled, muted audio. The sound is definitely equalized, but just sounds bad and requires excessive volume to hear 5) sometimes the G8 unit simply doesn't respond to the controls, requiring that I open the Creative software before it comes back to life. I'm super disappointed because this device has so much potential if not for the terrible drivers and control application. I expected a LOT more from a $160 device. I'm holding out for better and/or updated drivers, but I think Creative software package will always be bad, as that's been their status quo since the early 90's. Read more

Take any headphone to another level all together, be prepared though because it will make them capable of blowing your ear drums. Tons of options for customisation and adjusting, scout mode is amazing. Read more

This thing is totally underrated in the external DAC space. It keeps things simple, but does not compromise on sound quality. If you play PC games and are somewhat of an audiophile, you will LOVE this. I have purchased many other known brand DACS with LCD screens and a lot more setting to adjust, and to be honest I prefer the simpler life. The included features (Acoustic Engine) in the software are simple, yet extremely powerful, yielding truly stellar sound across a range of headphones. Portable, functions superbly for both music and gaming and has tons of connection options to meet most needs. And the volume power and clarity is astonishing, I can't believe this is a sound blaster product, I'm shocked how good it sounds. Read more

Bought this to replace my current G6 (or use as a backup for G6). At first I didn't notice the difference in sound quality, but after careful listening I did notice an improvement over the G6 sound quality. The sound stage appears to be deeper and wider over the sound of G6, and once you get used to it, it should be a good upgrade over the previous card. The only issue I had was that since my computer is a bit old, it only has one USB-C port, so using this sound card would take up the USB-C port and make it unavailable for other uses. However, once I replace my computer with extra USB-C ports in the future, this should no longer be a problem. (Note: I don't play a lot of games and mainly listen to music using this device, so the review is based on music-listening experience only.) Read more

Upgraded from a soundblaster x4. First unit of the g8 I received had a hum when volume was set at 0 and I figured it was defective. I had been looking to upgrade my older x4 unit since it was over four years old and I figured the tech had advanced. I eventually reordered a few months later and the unit I have now has nice and crisp audio and is absolutely an upgrade. I utilize the sound for fps games, videos/movies, and music. It’s a nice compact dac with white leds that don’t turn off, but not bothersome. Easy to use. I did install the creative software, but don’t bother too much with it or the scout mode. The default mode works well enough. If you’re looking for a dac for your pc gaming and don’t want to rely on on board sound, I recommend this unit. Creative soundblaster has been around for awhile and makes good products. Read more